


I will be your shield

by Verba_Venti



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Cookies, F/M, Nightmares, Not Canon Compliant, Pre-Fall of Overwatch, alcohol mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:33:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24516964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verba_Venti/pseuds/Verba_Venti
Summary: Sometimes a good friend can be an excellent shield against nightmares.
Relationships: Ana Amari/Reinhardt Wilhelm
Comments: 9
Kudos: 20





	I will be your shield

_*ahem*_

Reinhardt lurched forward, his eyes snapping open at the softest little warning cough. His muscles protested the movement, and he set a hand on the ribs that twinged in his side. Shocked out of his daze, he forced his eye to focus on the small figure in the doorway. 

Fareeha was rubbing an eye with her tiny fist, the other large eye fixed on Rein’s stiff movements. Her soft blue onesie and the teddy bear tucked under her arm seemed so out of place against the utilitarianism and sharp angles of the watchpoint kitchen. Even her hair looked softer than usual without its characteristic beading. 

Reinhardt shoved his own hair out of his face. “Hello vögelchen,” he said, trying a smile around his hoarse voice. 

“Hi Reinhardt,” Fareeha said, with a yawn. Reinhardt’s brain finally caught up, helpfully supplying the reminder that the girl had arrived earlier that evening to visit her mother for the weekend. 

“What are you doing up?” Reinhardt asked, without a clue what time it was beyond the faintest idea that it must be way after a seven-year-old’s bedtime. 

Fareeha looked down at her bare feet, shuffling them on the tile. He hoped her feet weren’t cold. The heat slipping out of the oven had warmed the tiles around him, but the ones by the door were likely frigid. “Mama is having a bad dream. She won't wake up and now I don’t know what to do.” 

Reinhardt smiled sympathetically. “Sometimes there isn’t anything you _can_ do, vögelchen.” 

__

“I guess so,” Fareeha said with a solo shoulder shrug. “But I couldn’t fall back to sleep.” 

__

“How about a glass of water?” Reinhardt asked, preparing himself for the daunting task of standing. He was no stranger to the various aches and pains that came with his fighting style, but they were harder to tolerate when they felt purposeless. Every twinge as he pushed his knees away from his chest felt like a reminder of his failures. A groan escaped him as he pushed himself to his feet. 

__

Fareeha nodded and padded over to a table. Reinhardt glanced at the microwave clock on his way to the fridge: 2:27 A.M. Fareeha clambered up onto a chair set by the table, and he joined her soon after. She reached for the giant mug in his right hand with a mischievous little smile, but accepted the small glass he offered her instead. He just nodded in reply to her thanks. 

__

The oven beeped to let Reinhardt know the cookies would be done in a minute, and the young girl jumped. 

__

“It’s okay,” Reinhardt said. “It’s just the oven.” 

__

“What are you making?” Fareeha asked, tilting her head slightly. 

__

“Cookies.” 

__

“In the middle of the night?” Fareeha asked, eyes wide. 

__

Reinhardt laughed as he got up to put on oven mitts. “One of the perks of being a grownup. Cookies whenever you like.” 

__

Fareeha watched Reinhardt like a hawk as he gingerly opened the oven, her legs swinging back and forth. The telltale scents of vanilla and chocolate hit him full force, carried on the wave of hot air rushing out. Even though Reinhardt knew they would still be too hot to eat, he used a metal turner to messily scoop half of the soft cookies onto a large plate. 

__

Reinhardt tore a couple of pieces of paper towel off one handed en route to their table. He set the plate down in the middle of the table with a flourish. He bowed, heedless of his injuries as he offered one of the pieces of paper towel to Fareeha. She giggled as she thanked him, plucking it gently from his hand. 

__

Even as he was sitting down, Reinhardt was reaching for a cookie. He cursed softly in German as he yanked his hand away, shaking it in a vain attempt to soothe the burn. 

__

“They’re hot,” Fareeha said matter-of-factly. “You need to wait!” 

__

Reinhardt laughed. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but that is not my strong suit.” 

__

Fareeha had finished her glass of water, so Reinhardt took the empty glass in hand and chugged the rest of his water as he headed for the fridge. He blinked his way past the brightness of the fridge light, his eye rapidly adjusting from the deliberate dimness of the kitchen. 

__

“1 or 2%?” Reinhardt asked, assessing the options. 

__

“1%, please,” Fareeha replied. Reinhardt used his forearm to hold the glass against his chest, picking up the carton of milk with his newly freed hand. 

__

“1% it is, then,” Rein said, kneeing the fridge closed. 

__

A minute didn’t make much of a difference to the cookies cooling, but he reached for one anyway. Now the cookie was tolerably hot, and he dunked it into his milk before taking a bite. Fareeha watched him with her bright, intelligent eyes. Only once he had safely swallowed the first bite of his cookie did she take a cookie for herself. 

__

The little girl finished three cookies in the amount of time it took Reinhardt to shamelessly finish the rest of the plate. Reinhardt chugged his milk, leaving Fareeha to finish hers more slowly as he went to put away the cooled cookies. He washed the pan and turner before opening the dishwasher. Reinhardt flinched again when Fareeha suddenly appeared by his side, hoping she didn’t notice the way his breath caught in his chest at the pain. The little girl simply put her glass in the dishwasher before smiling up at him. 

__

“Think you’re ready to try to sleep again?” Reinhardt asked, not quite sure what he would do next if the answer was no. Neither his Crusader training nor Overwatch orientation had covered situations like this. 

__

Fareeha yawned and nodded, her teddy bear tucked tight against her chest with one arm. She held out her free hand and Reinhardt felt his heart warm. He took the small hand in his own, flipping the last light-switch on the giant panel by the door on their way out. Fareeha had to take two steps for every one of his strides. After he realized she was half jogging to keep up with him, Rein had to keep reminding himself to slow down. The base was quiet even for 2 A.M., with most of the agents and support staff either sleeping or hiding in their rooms to lick their wounds. 

__

At Fareeha’s pace, it took them longer than usual to reach the officers’ quarters. At first, images and regrets from the day kept slipping into his thought stream. He tilted his head back slightly to smile to himself when he realized Fareeha was humming softly. He gladly passed the rest of their walk trying to figure out what she was attempting to hum. By the time they had reached Ana’s room, he had concluded two things: the first was that Fareeha was somehow worse at carrying a tune than he was, and the second was that it was absolutely adorable anyway. 

__

Fareeha cleared her throat when they stopped outside Ana’s door. “Athena can you let us in please?” 

__

“Of course, Fareeha,” the AI replied immediately. Knowing Athena, she had probably been keeping a close watch on the young girl wandering around a paramilitary base at 2 A.M. Rein wouldn’t be surprised if Athena had wordlessly timed the lights to lead Fareeha to the kitchen. 

__

The door whooshed open as the girl murmured a thank you. Reinhardt had intended to pat Fareeha on the head and nudge her towards the bed, á la the 1966 classic Grinch film, but she was surprisingly strong as she towed him a few feet into Ana’s room. The door closed behind them despite his helpless glance over his shoulder. If Athena was corporeal, Reinhardt would be glaring at her. As it was, he just awkwardly stood in the entranceway. 

__

Fareeha slipped her hand out of his loose grasp, firmly replacing it with her teddy bear. She tiptoed into the washroom. He could hear her brushing her teeth through the closed door. Somehow, Fareeha appeared to be more responsible than half their team members. 

__

The room was patchily lit by the Overwatch logo nightlights scattered about. It was enough that Reinhardt could see that Ana was still sleeping quite restlessly. The sheets on her bed were tangled around her, and her long dark hair formed a messy halo around her head. While he was waiting for Fareeha to finish brushing her teeth, Ana rolled over several times, murmuring in her sleep. His Arabic certainly wasn’t good enough to understand her sleep garbled words, but her distress came across loud and clear. 

__

Reinhardt was overly proud that he didn’t flinch when Fareeha slipped out of the bathroom. She tiptoed through the room to her mother’s side of the bed. Fareeha nudged Ana’s shoulder and whispered something in Arabic. She was certainly persistent, her voice growing louder and her nudges harder until she huffed out her frustration. Her brow was furrowed as she turned her large-eyed frown on Reinhardt. 

__

Reinhardt stifled a sigh as he pushed the button to open the door, holding his other hand out to Fareeha. She padded over to him and took it without hesitation, following him into the hall. As the door closed behind them, Reinhardt carefully knelt before Fareeha. Even kneeling, he still had to look down at the girl. 

__

“Is there any chance you’ll be able to sleep?” Reinhardt asked. 

__

Fareeha shook her head. He could see the sad understanding in her large, dark eyes. Even more clear was her exhaustion. Reinhardt frowned as he scrambled for any solution. He knew Ana was close friends with Morrison and Reyes, but there was no way either of them would have time to deal with her problems, not tonight. Jack was probably fielding a half dozen conference calls simultaneously, trying to cover up everything that had gone wrong that day. Gabriel, on the other hand, was probably furiously uncovering the reasons why everything had gone wrong. 

__

Torbjörn was probably better with kids than Rein was – a father of six kids… or was it seven?… had to know how to deal with them by now. But if Torbjörn was asleep, Reinhardt couldn’t deprive him of his much needed rest. And if Torbjörn wasn’t asleep, then he wouldn’t be suitable for child audiences in his exhausted state. 

__

He smiled as a simple solution came to him at last. “Why don’t you take my room for the night? It was just cleaned earlier today, and Athena will be able to keep an eye on you and let me know if you need anything.” 

__

Fareeha frowned. “Where will you sleep?” 

__

Reinhardt waved his hand dismissively. “Pssh. Don’t worry about me. I wasn’t planning on sleeping for awhile anyway. If I get tired I can sleep on a couch in the rec room.” 

__

“I could sleep in the rec room?” Fareeha offered, generously not mentioning that he was clearly exhausted. 

__

Reinhardt shook his head. “I think your mother would be quite unhappy with me if I let you sleep on a couch when there’s a perfectly good ginormous bed you could sleep in instead.” 

__

Fareeha frowned. “I can’t leave Mama alone all night. Whenever I have a nightmare, she sits with me until I fall asleep again and keeps the nightmares away. I should be there for her when she wakes up, to protect her.” 

__

It was amazing how the little girl always knew the right thing to say. But… “I think your mother would be happier if you got some sleep, vögelchen,” Reinhardt pointed out logically. 

__

Fareeha furrowed her little brow, jutting out her bottom lip in a stubborn pout. “I don’t want her to wake up alone.” Her brow scrunched up further as she thought for a moment. Then abruptly her brow smoothed and her frown turned into a smile. “I know! You can sit up with her! That’s what you do, right? Protect people,” she clarified.

__

Reinhardt laughed helplessly. “Yes, I do protect people, little one. But I’m not sure your mother would want me there.” He would say they were friends, but they weren’t particularly close. Between Fareeha and her work, Ana understandably didn’t have much time left over for anything or anyone else. 

__

“Pleeease? I think she’d want you there. You can even tell her I said that, when she wakes up!” 

__

“I don’t know, vögelchen,” Reinhardt said, his mind not providing him a better argument…Maybe he should try seeing if Jack or Gabe was free? Last he’d heard, Mirembe and Kimiko were stationed at other watchpoints, but maybe they’d snuck back without him knowing? Perhaps Torbjörn would have some idea what on earth he should do next? Even if Torb yelled at Rein for waking him, maybe a hint would be worth it? 

__

Fareeha crossed her skinny arms over her chest and her stubborn pout returned. “I won’t be able to sleep until I know someone is going to be there for Mama.” 

__

Reinhardt squinted down at Fareeha. He suspected he was being manipulated, but it was hard to argue with a seven-year-old. A sigh of defeat escaped him. “So either you stay up with her or I do?” 

__

Fareeha nodded definitively. “Exactly.” 

__

Reinhardt scrambled one last time for any alternative. “Athena, help?” he pleaded, looking up at the ceiling. 

__

“I can corroborate your story when Captain Amari wakes up,” Athena offered. 

__

Reinhardt sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. His knee was getting sore. It probably didn’t help that he’d twisted it earlier that day. “Fine. You win, vögelchen.” 

__

“Good.” Fareeha smiled and then yawned. “Cause I’m sleepy now.” 

__

Reinhardt pushed himself back to his feet, Fareeha’s teddy bear still in his hand. He offered the teddy bear to the little girl, and she took it in one hand, using her other hand to grab Reinhardt’s before he even thought to offer it. Reinhardt led the girl to his room at the end of the hall, inputting his code to open the door. Fareeha skipped into his room as he turned on the light. When she reached the tall bed, she hauled herself up, tossing her teddy bear casually ahead of her before superman-ing her way to the middle of the bed. She sighed happily as she burrowed under the covers. 

__

“All good?” Reinhardt asked, leaning heavily against the doorframe. 

__

“Perfect,” Fareeha said with a smile. 

__

“Do you need a nightlight?” Reinhardt asked, thinking back to Ana’s room. 

__

“I’ll be ok. I have Teddy,” Fareeha said confidently. 

__

“If you’re sure...Now, if you need _anything_ , just let Athena know.” Reinhardt showed his oversized comm to the little girl. “I’m just a message away.” 

__

“Thank you, Reinhardt,” Fareeha said, her small voice warm. “You’ll stay with Mama until she wakes up?” 

__

Reinhardt sighed and turned off the light. “Yes, vögelchen. You have my word.” 

__

“Thank you. Goodnight!” 

__

“Sweet dreams!” Reinhardt said, backing out of his room. The door whooshed closed and Reinhardt rested his forehead on the cold metal of the door. 

__

Reinhardt sighed. “How did I get myself into this?” he murmured. 

__

“You promised Fareeha,” Athena reminded him from his comm. 

__

“Yes I did, Athena. Thank you.” Reinhardt sighed again. “Keep an eye on Fareeha, please?” 

__

“Of course.” 

__

“Great.” Reinhardt pushed himself off the door and started to drag his feet to Ana’s quarters. “Is there any way you can sit up with Ana too?” he asked jokingly. Before Athena could reply, he put his hands up in surrender. “I know, I know – I promised.” 

__

It took him until he was standing outside her quarters to realize he didn’t know Ana’s passcode. But before he could even breathe a word to Athena, the door whooshed open. In his best approximation of a whisper, Reinhardt thanked the AI before entering Ana’s room. The nightlights were thankfully enough for him to see the layout of Ana’s room. It was a similar size to Reinhardt’s room, but with the standard sized furniture, there was also enough space for a long couch before the window. Reinhardt crossed the room and sank down with a sigh. 

__

In the pocket of his sweatpants, his comm buzzed. He pulled it out to see a message from Athena: ‘Turn on the bedside lamp. It isn’t very bright and it will make it less creepy.’ Reinhardt stifled a chuckle. He reached over to the nearside of the bed, opposite where Ana was sleeping, and turned on the lamp to the lowest setting. Athena was right – it wasn’t very bright. 

__

Reinhardt leaned back to wait for Ana to wake up. At first he watched her toss and turn, but he felt creepy almost immediately. His promise kept him there, so in lieu of leaving, he stared up at the ceiling instead. 

__

Hopefully Ana wouldn’t be upset to find him there. He rehearsed his explanation in his head, planning on stressing the _Fareeha_ of it all. Once he had an explanation, his mind wandered. At first it drifted to their failed mission, but he quickly redirected it. Falling into that particular rabbit hole would not be constructive. Instead his mind turned to Ana. 

__

None of them had come out of that day unscathed, but as per usual, Reinhardt had needed more healing than anyone else. Ana had to leave the infirmary to go meet her daughter while Reinhardt was still getting patched up, and he hadn’t seen either of them for the rest of the day. 

__

Rein and Ana had been working together for awhile now, but he didn’t know Ana that well. He knew she and Fareeha’s father, Sam, had split amicably not long after Fareeha was born. Rumours said that it was because Ana didn’t have enough time for Sam, but Reinhardt had never really trusted rumours. He himself was a master of embellishing tales, and he knew how far it could all go. So he kept his assessments to the things he knew for sure. 

__

Ana was a relatively private person. She was devoted to her daughter. He had never met anyone with anything near the drive Ana had to do what was right and to make the world a better place. Ana was kind, and intelligent, and if she was a bit distant, it was understandable for someone with her particular aptitudes. Still, on the occasions that Ana took a break with her teammates, Reinhardt had found that he very much enjoyed spending time with her. She had a wicked sense of humour that made him laugh and blush in equal parts. More than that, though, he truly admired her determination and strength. 

__

Reinhardt had gotten used to the sound of Ana’s sporadic restless movements, so at first he didn’t notice when she woke up. He didn’t look back down at her until she spoke. 

__

“Where’s Fareeha? Is she okay?” she asked sharply, her brow furrowed. 

__

“Fareeha is completely fine. She’s sleeping in my quarters. Athena is keeping an eye on her.” It was only as it melted away that he noticed the tension she had held in every strong line of her body. 

__

Ana cleared her throat. She was propped up on one arm, her long black hair draped forward over her lavender tank top. She pushed it back roughly, drawing Reinhardt’s attention back up to her face. Ana raised one dark eyebrow at Reinhardt as he leaned forward, his fingers laced together before him. “Explain.” 

__

Her tone immediately switched Reinhardt’s brain to mission debrief mode. “Fareeha came and found me in the kitchen at approximately 2:25 A.M. She reported that you were having a rough night and it woke her up. She couldn’t wake you or fall back to sleep. She had three freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and a glass of 1% milk, and then I brought her back here. Fareeha brushed her teeth and tried to wake you again. But despite repetition of her efforts, she couldn’t, and you were still tossing and turning and talking in your sleep. Fareeha didn’t think she’d be able to sleep here, so I gave her my bed instead. Athena, is Fareeha sleeping?” 

__

“Yes, Lieutenant Reinhardt,” Athena replied formally. “She fell asleep immediately after you left.” 

__

While he was speaking, Ana smoothly shifted to a cross-legged seat, each movement deliberate yet graceful. When he finished his report, Reinhardt was surprised yet again to see more tension slip away as her shoulders relaxed down and her jaw unclenched. Perhaps that was just a result of getting some distance from her nightmare, but he thought it was more likely related to knowing exactly where her daughter was and why. 

__

Ana yawned and stretched up, the movement raising her tank top to reveal a strip of dark skin over the waistband of her pyjama pants. “Thank you both. But you still haven’t explained why you’re still here.” 

__

Reinhardt cleared his throat. “Yes, well. Fareeha didn’t want you to wake up alone, and she suggested that someone should be here for you.” 

__

“Let me guess,” Ana said, her tone at last warming and becoming wry. “She said that if you wouldn’t do it, then she would.” 

__

Reinhardt shrugged. “Pretty much. That daughter of yours can be quite persuasive when she wants to be.” 

__

Ana nodded without an ounce of shame as she set her hands behind her and stretched her back languidly. “It doesn’t help that she’s so damn smart,” she said. “Maybe she’ll grow up to be an engineer or a scientist.” 

__

“I think that Fareeha will be able to be anything she wants to be,” Reinhardt replied. “She clearly inherited your determination.” 

__

“Yeah,” Ana breathed out a laugh as she rounded forward slightly, her long hair swinging forward once more. “I guess she did. Were you just planning on sleeping on my couch, then?” 

__

Reinhardt shrugged again. “I can sleep in the rec room. Fareeha needs the privacy and security of a private room more than I do.” 

__

“Ever the gentleman,” Ana said with a soft smile as she played with the ends of her hair. “So, what next?” 

__

“I can head to the rec room now, if you like,” Rein offered. 

__

Ana’s smile quirked into a crooked grin. “Reinhardt, I don’t know if you’re an optimist or just plain delusional, but there’s no way in hell you’ll fit on one of those couches either.” Ana’s chuckle got caught in her throat as her grin faded. She cleared her throat and looked down, smoothing the sheet over her lap. “If you don’t mind staying up for awhile longer, I appreciate the company.” Her eyes flicked back up to look at him through her long, dark lashes, and she pushed her hair back again. 

__

Reinhardt stroked his short beard. “We could go for a walk, if you like? There’s fresh cookies in the kitchen, too. Or we could just stay here and talk. Whatever you prefer!” 

__

Ana flashed a smile at him, and Reinhardt could swear his tired heart may have literally skipped a beat. Something about the vulnerability, exhaustion, and sincerity all mixed up in that smile made it unlike any he’d ever seen before. 

__

“I think a walk is just what I need,” Ana said. She pushed her covers aside as she smoothly got to her feet, shoving her feet into her sneakers. She unceremoniously gathered all of her hair into a messy bun on top of her head, securing it with a thick hair elastic scavenged from the cluttered top of her bedside table. Even as she was lowering her arms, several chunks of hair slipped out of the bun, but she just smiled at Reinhardt. “Shall we?” 

__

Reinhardt swallowed. His throat was abruptly dry. “Yes.” 

__

Ana squinted at him critically. “You sure you don’t just want to go to sleep?” 

__

“Yes, I’m sure,” Reinhardt answered honestly. 

__

Ana held his gaze for a moment longer before nodding. “All right then.” She left her room and Reinhardt trailed after her. She dropped back slightly so they were walking side-by-side. In unison, they silently turned into the hallway that would get them outside as fast as possible. Despite the height difference between them, Ana kept pace with him easily. 

__

Once they were outside, Reinhardt took a deep breath of the cool, salt-scented air. He glanced down to find that Ana had her eyes closed and her chin tilted up slightly as the breeze gently stirred the dark hair framing her face. His eye were just tracing the long line of her neck when her eyes fluttered open and she turned her head to smile at him sleepily. 

__

The moon was nearly full, and the base was fairly well lit. Given the number of people who lived and worked at the watchpoint, it was stunningly empty. Reinhardt glanced at his comm. To be fair, it was after 3 A.M. and a lot of the support staff had probably been working double time that day to clean up the strike team’s mess. He certainly didn’t envy them that task. There were a lot of fires to put out, both literal and metaphorical. 

__

Reinhardt was content to follow Ana’s lead as she walked purposefully though the silent night air. Ana cut across paths until they reached a bench set beside a grove of trees. She sat down without hesitation, wiggling slightly until she was snugly pressed against an armrest. Ana looked up at him expectantly. 

__

When Reinhardt just stared down at the wrought iron bench with some apprehension, she patted the space next to her, the smile lines around her eyes clear in the moonlight even as she pursed her lips to hide her smile. He closed his eyes as he sat down, silently praying the bench wouldn’t break beneath him. He slowly shifted his weight to the bench, letting out a deep breath as it took his weight with only a soft creak. He opened his eyes as he stretched his legs out before them. It was a tight fit on the bench, and there was barely an inch between them. But Ana didn’t complain as she lifted one of her knees up to her chest. She wrapped her arms loosely around her upright knee and let out a long breath. The way her chest was rounded forward made her look hollow and untethered as she rested her chin on her upright knee. 

__

Reinhardt lifted his arm and rested it along the back of the bench, twisting his body to look closely at her face. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

__

“Not particularly, no,” Ana replied mildly, looking straight ahead. 

__

“What do you need from me?” Reinhardt asked, wishing he could lift some of the weight from her shoulders. 

__

“Tell me a story?” 

__

Now that he could do. With great gusto, Reinhardt launched into a story from his youth. He and his friend had been wrestling while his parents were at work, and Rein had accidentally thrown his friend through a wall. So Reinhardt’s friend had rushed to the hardware store to pick up the things they needed to fix it while Rein desperately researched how to repair a wall. They managed to fix it in time, and they did a surprisingly good job, but in their hurry the had both forgotten about painting the drywall. So the moment Rein’s parents came home, they had immediately asked about the giant bald patches on either side of the wall. 

__

Ana laughed as Reinhardt explained his punishment: repainting the two rooms that shared the wall. Ana’s amusement was infectious, and soon he joined her. Between the laughter, and the fresh air, and the company, he found that his heart had unexpectedly lightened somewhat. 

__

“Thank you,” Ana said after she caught her breath. She released her knee and let her foot drop as she launched herself to her feet. She offered Reinhardt a hand to pull him up. Reinhardt took the hand, but used his other arm to push himself to his feet, barely pulling on Ana’s arm. The woman just chuckled and started the walk back to their dorm. Trailing behind, Reinhardt attempted to stretch out his sore muscles. 

__

Ana stopped outside Rein’s room. “I can take Fareeha back to my room. That way you can sleep in a proper bed.” 

__

“Are you sure?” Rein asked, his fingers hovering over the oversized keypad. 

__

“Completely,” Ana said, with a reassuring smile. 

__

“I can carry her for you,” Reinhardt offered without thinking. 

__

Ana’s brows went up. “I can carry a full grown super soldier through a combat zone, Reinhardt. I’m pretty sure I can carry my seven-year-old daughter.” 

__

“Of course! But I don’t have a code to your room,” Reinhardt said logically. 

__

Ana scrutinized him for another moment before nodding. “Fair enough. Thanks.” 

__

“No worries!” Reinhardt said. With that settled, he punched in his code and entered his room. Ana quickly slipped past him, her warm shoulder brushing against his bicep. Reinhardt raised his other hand to rest over the point of contact as Ana crawled to the middle of the bed. She pulled down the covers to reveal Fareeha starfish-ing in the middle of the bed. 

__

In the light from the doorway, Reinhardt could see Ana’s sweet smile as she gently tucked her daughter’s arms in so she could lift Fareeha. Ana cradled Fareeha against her chest before knee walking into Reinhardt’s range. Rein took one big step forward and leaned across his bed to take Fareeha into his arms. Her weight was barely noticeable, but his bruised ribs seemed offended that they had slipped his mind. There was no way he was letting Ana know that, though. 

__

Ana led the way back to her room and opened the door. Rein went to the far side of the bed and set Fareeha down. Ana rested the teddy bear on her daughter’s chest, and Fareeha’s arms wrapped around it. Ana tucked her daughter in, pressing a featherlight kiss to Fareeha’s forehead. Fareeha murmured happily, eliciting another sweet smile out of Ana. She turned her smile on Reinhardt and gestured towards the door. 

__

Reinhardt was surprised to see that Ana had followed him into the hallway. The door whooshed closed behind her as she quickly pulled the elastic out of her hair, letting the dark waves fall unbound around her. She combed her fingers back through her hair as she looked up at Reinhardt. 

__

“Thank you again, Reinhardt. I really appreciate you taking such good care of Fareeha.” 

__

“It was my honour,” Reinhardt said as softly as he could. 

__

“Yes, well.” Ana cleared her throat. “Thank you for taking care of me too.” She stepped closed to him and crooked her finger at him. His brow furrowed in confusion, but Reinhardt leaned down anyway. Ana smiled as she rolled up onto her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. Reinhardt stood up quickly. 

__

“Goodnight, you softhearted giant,” she said as her smile stretched out into a grin, still balanced on her tiptoes. 

__

Reinhardt wished the hallway lights were dimmer in order to cover up the flush high on his cheeks. Still, he smiled down at Ana. “Sleep well!” 

__

  


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* * *

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__

__

The next night, Reinhardt went to bed at a much more reasonable time. After his very short sleep the night before, he felt reasonably confident he would be exhausted enough to dodge the majority of his nightmares. So when he woke up blearily in the dark and rolled over to check his clock, he wasn’t entirely sure what had woken him. But then the knocking at his door came again. 

__

Reinhardt rolled out of his bed with a groan. He found a pair of sweatpants and an undershirt on the floor. After he sniffed the undershirt and declared it adequately clean, he pulled on the clothing. At the last moment he remembered to shove his feet into a giant pair of sneakers before he went to open the door. 

__

At first in his sleep-addled state he couldn’t figure out where the person who had knocked on his door had gone. But then a soft cough drew his attention down to the small girl standing before him. Fareeha was wearing a peach onesie and she carried a pillow in one hand, but otherwise she looked much the same as the night before, teddy bear and all. She was looking up at him with her large, bright eyes and her tiny pout. 

__

Reinhardt stepped back and dropped to one knee. “What’s up, vögelchen?” 

__

“Mama is having another nightmare,” Fareeha replied quietly. 

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Reinhardt covered a yawn with his large hand. “Did you try to wake her?” 

__

“Yeah. And I tried to fall back to sleep,” Fareeha said. 

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He wasn’t surprised that Fareeha had tried everything she could before asking for help. 

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“Can I sleep here again until she wakes up?” 

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Reinhardt got to his feet and stepped aside so she could enter the room. Fareeha brushed past him and climbed onto his bed again, this time hampered by both her teddy bear and her pillow. She crawled to the middle of the bed and sat up, carefully setting aside his used pillow to put her own small pillow in its place. Fareeha turned to look at him, tilting her head slightly. 

__

“Will you go sit with Mama again?” 

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Reinhardt sighed. “Do I have another choice?” 

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“Of course you do! I could go sit with her. I’m not too sleepy!” Fareeha replied, leaning towards him slightly. 

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Reinhardt approached the bed, taking the large pillow Fareeha had set aside. “Sleep well, vögelchen! Remember Athena is here if you need anything!” 

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“Goodnight, Reinhardt!” Fareeha yawned widely as she tucked herself in under his covers. Her heavy eyelids drooped closed. “Thank you,” she murmured as he stepped out into the hall. 

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Once again, Athena opened Ana’s door for him unprompted. Apparently the AI really had a soft spot for Fareeha, since she was normally a stickler for protocol. Reinhardt headed straight for the couch, turning on the bedside lamp without prompting from Athena. He toed off his shoes. This time, he laid on his side on the couch, his knees tucked nearly up to his chest and his calves dangling off the couch. He fell asleep what felt like a split second after his head hit his pillow. Apparently he was harder to wake than Fareeha was. 

__

But Ana’s bright laughter managed to wake him. “Oh, I’m sorry, Reinhardt! Fareeha woke you, didn’t she?” 

__

Reinhardt sat up on the couch, nodding. “I don’t mind! I’m glad she feels comfortable asking me for help!” 

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Ana had covered her mouth with one hand, but he could see the smile in her eyes. “Me too.” The bags under Ana’s eyes were particularly dark. 

__

“Do you want to go for another walk?” Reinhardt asked. 

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Ana nodded as she rolled out of bed, catching herself at the last moment. As Ana was putting her hair up, Reinhardt pushed himself to his feet and shoved his feet back into his shoes. 

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Ana looked at him critically. “I can also just go get Fareeha so you can get some sleep.” 

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“I’m fine,” Reinhardt said. Almost immediately, he felt the urge to yawn. He couldn’t quite manage to stifle it, and Ana chuckled. 

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“You sure?” Ana said. 

__

Reinhardt could use the sleep. But he also knew how it felt to be stuck in your head, and how sometimes what you really needed was someone else to draw you out of it. If Ana trusted him to be that person, then he was perfectly happy to be there for her. “Completely.” 

__

Ana was out of the room before he could take another breath. He hurried to catch up to her as she retraced her steps from the previous night. This time, when they reached the bench, he sat down without any hesitation. Ana fit herself between him and the armrest, pulling both her knees to her chest as she angled herself slightly towards him. She looked at him expectantly.

__

Clearly the missions that went poorly were off limits, but he did have a story with more familiar characters that he thought she’d appreciate. Reinhardt and his team were on the greek island Rhodes, on standby to deal with a potentially sketchy situation. They’d never had to deploy. Instead, they spent a week relaxing and sightseeing. Despite the bitter edge that being on standby put on everything, it was one of his more enjoyable missions, for obvious reasons. 

__

The house that the government had graciously put them up in had a giant infinity pool, a flat roof, and trellises along the walls covered in bougainvillea in myriad shades of pinks and purples. One of his teammates had come up with the brilliant idea to scale the trellises and jump off the two story building into the pool. Of them all, Reinhardt was least suited to the task, but that had never stopped him before and he was never one to be outdone. It took a couple of grappling hooks for support lines, but they managed to get Rein to the roof. Reinhardt had charged off the roof immediately, cannonballing into the pool…and displacing roughly half the water in a splash that drenched the pool deck…and the cat perched on the fence. Reinhardt had spent the rest of the week trailing after it and trying to convince the proud cat to not hate him, mostly via bribery. 

__

As exhausted as he was by the time he finished his tale, Ana’s laughter was worth all of the effort. It occurred to him that there may indeed be little he wouldn’t do to make her happy. This time, though, when their laughter died out, Ana didn’t get up immediately. Taking his cue from her, Reinhardt rested his hands behind his head, crossed his ankles before him, and made himself comfortable. 

__

Reinhardt had nearly drifted off to sleep when Ana spoke. It took a heartbeat or two for her quiet words to register, and longer for his tired mind to process them. 

__

“How are you so okay?” Ana asked, her blank voice stripped of any judgment or curiosity. 

__

Reinhardt sat up before leaning forward, his elbows on his thighs and his fingers laced before him. His vision went hazy as he allowed the memories to seep in. Images of pulse muzzle flashes and racing flames and black smoke filling the sky rushed through his mind’s eye. For a moment, anguished screams echoed in his ears. He clenched his jaw and swallowed before taking several deep breaths, trying to draw himself back to the here and now. His eye focussed abruptly as he stared down at where Ana had rested her hand on his forearm. Her touch was gentle and cool. 

__

He wished he had a better answer for her. But at the ripe old age of 36, Reinhardt had yet to figure out how to best handle the bad days. Memories of the terrible hangover after his last attempt at drowning his sorrows in a tankard kept him from reaching for alcohol anymore. But the inevitability of nightmares after the bad days kept him from seeking solace in sleep. Hence his efforts the night before to put off sleep until his brain was too exhausted to plague him with his regrets. 

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A deep, shuddering sigh escaped with his next exhale.“I’m not. I’m just exhausted.” 

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_

  


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* * *

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Ana invited Reinhardt to see Fareeha off the next day. He approached the pair somewhat tentatively but then he found himself grinning as Fareeha opened her arms to him expectantly. He bent down and lifted her up, hugging her close. Fareeha’s skinny arms around his neck squeezed tightly. She whispered her thanks into his ear before leaning back so he would set her back down on her feet. 

__

Fareeha and her mother would take a hover van to the nearest commercial airport, where Sam would be waiting. Reinhardt admired Fareeha’s father’s willingness to travel back and forth with his daughter. Although, to be fair, he could see how the extra time spent with the clever young girl could be worth a few hours on a plane. After Ana closed the door behind Fareeha, she turned around to smile up at Reinhardt. 

__

“Maybe you’ll finally get a good night’s sleep!” she said, with a wink. 

__

Reinhardt returned her smile. “Perhaps! But I usually have a pretty irregular sleep schedule anyway. So if you ever do need someone to talk to late at night, you can always just come wake me up! I fall back asleep easily, so you need not fear irreparably disrupting my beauty sleep!” 

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Ana nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you, Reinhardt.” 

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* * *

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Apparently Ana took him at his word, because for the second night in a row, Reinhardt awoke to a knock on his door. 

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“One minute, please!” Reinhardt called as he got up and threw on clothes. Two long strides had him at his door, and he opened it. 

__

Reinhardt smiled down at Ana. The woman looked him up and down before setting her hands on firmly her hips and scowling up at him. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other nervously, his smile faltering. 

__

“You _were_ asleep!” Ana said, glaring up at Athena’s nearest camera. “Someone told me you were awake!” 

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Reinhardt’s brow smoothed, the problem of Ana’s expression solved. “Oh, that,” he said with a yawn. “I asked Athena to tell you that.” 

__

Now Ana turned her glare on him. “Why?” 

__

Reinhardt shrugged sleepily. “Because I was worried you wouldn’t be willing to wake me, even though I told you that you could.” 

__

“So you just asked her to lie for you?” 

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Reinhardt blinked the sleep out of his eyes so he could let some of his seriousness shine through. “Yes. I won’t do it again, but I really wanted to be here for you and I couldn’t think of another way to prove I was being sincere.” 

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Ana glared at him for a moment more before sighing. “Fine.” 

__

Several nights of interrupted sleep along with stressful days had left Reinhardt winter-bear tired. “Do you want to go for a walk, or can we just talk here?” he asked bluntly. 

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Ana scanned his face and nodded. “Here is fine.” 

__

Without another word Reinhardt turned his back on the door and walked to his bed, propping himself up with his pillows. Ana came and sat campfire style at the end of the bed. Given how tired he was, it was ridiculous to him that he noticed she was wearing different pyjamas, but he couldn’t really judge his exhausted mind for the details it latched onto. Like the way Ana fidgeted with a loose thread from the hem of her pant leg, or how her shoulders slowly rounded forward as the weight of her own tiredness bore down on her. 

__

Reinhardt talked for as long as he could, but before long he was yawning in the middle of every sentence. However, as tired as he was, he could see that Ana was still feeling the effects of her nightmares. Even for Ana, she was being quiet and distant. Perhaps not having Fareeha around as a distraction anymore made it harder for her to push past her bad dreams. 

__

Ana cut him off mid-yawn about two dozen yawns in. “You need sleep, Reinhardt.” 

__

Reinhardt squinted his eyes at he looked at Ana. “So do you.” 

__

“Yes, well.” Ana shrugged one shouldered, the movement sending her loose T-shirt slipping down one arm and revealing more of the dark tank top she wore under it. “I’m not sure I’m ready to go back to my room alone.” 

__

Perhaps it was the additional familiarity from spending a decent proportion of the past few nights talking to Ana that made him willing to say what he said next. More likely it was courage born out of exhaustion. “You’re welcome to sleep here tonight.” 

__

Ana’s eyebrow went up immediately as a yawn kept Reinhardt from finishing his thought. She adjusted her T-shirt until it was centered once more. 

__

He held up one finger until his yawn had passed. “I am not trying to proposition you. I meant what I said: you can _sleep_ here.” He yawned again as Ana’s eyebrow slowly lowered back down. “God knows that’s what I’m planning on doing. It’s a big bed. But this way we can both get some sleep and you don’t have to be alone.” 

__

Ana got to her feet without a word and left his room, his door closing behind her. Reinhardt debated following after her, sighing loudly. He was being completely sincere: he just wanted her to get some sleep. He wanted them _both_ to get some sleep. But before he could find the energy to stand, a knock came on his door again. 

__

“Athena, please?” Reinhardt asked pleadingly. 

__

The door whooshed open without him having to reach for any buttons and Ana came back in, pillow in hand. She walked definitively to the far side of the bed and took the pillow from that edge of the bed. She set it in the middle of the bed between them and put her own pillow in its place. Reinhardt watched as she pulled all of her glossy hair over one shoulder. She laid down facing him, her hair fanning across her chest. 

__

Reinhardt just sighed in relief and slid under the covers. Athena continued to be an angel and turned off the lights for him. 

__

“Sweet dreams,” Reinhardt murmured. 

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“Sleep well, Reinhardt,” Ana replied. 

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* * *

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As he was approaching his quarters the following evening, Reinhardt noticed the occasional wide-eyed glance from passersby but thought little of it. When at last he turned into his hallway, he figured out the cause: Ana. The captain was leaning against the wall outside his dorm, with pyjamas donned and pillow in hand. She glanced over and greeted him with a smile as she kicked off the wall to meet him. 

__

Given he was actually going to bed at a reasonable time, there were still several people wandering the halls. She seemed to not even notice their stares as he gestured her in, but he lingered outside his room and individually made eye contact with everyone in the hallway. One by one they looked away and found somewhere else to be. 

__

Ana was sitting at the end of the bed, her arms wrapped around her pillow. Her words came out all in a rush. He’d never seen her nervous before. “I talked to a counsellor today about what happened Friday. I’m meeting with them every day this week to properly process all of it. Logically I know it wasn’t my fault, and that I did all I could. But clearly I am having trouble dealing with the fact that our best wasn’t enough. They suggested that for now it would be best if I avoid dwelling on the mission outside of my therapy sessions. When I asked how, they suggested leaning on my friends.” Ana quickly glanced up at him with a small smile as she said friends. “But I know you’re going through all of this too, and I don’t want to put more of a burden on your shoulders.” 

__

Reinhardt shook his head. “Lean all you like. I’m strong and I can bear it! Besides, spending time with you is no burden, even if we are both just sleeping!” 

__

Ana exhaled loudly. “So can I stay here? Until my therapist thinks I have a better handle on this, that is.” 

__

“Absolutely!” Reinhardt said, smiling. 

__

“You’ll tell me if it ever gets to be too much for you, or if I get annoying?” Ana was scrutinizing him for any hint of a lie. 

__

He nodded gravely. “Absolutely, Ana. I promise.” 

Ana cleared her throat self-consciously. "Good." She took a deep breath before continuing quietly. "You make me feel safe." 

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* * *

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The next Monday night, Reinhardt found Ana already sitting on his bed, her arms wrapped around the pillow she’d left in his room for the past week. He had asked Athena to program his door to open for Ana’s code; even though he had no cause to use it, Ana had done the same for her room and his code. Ana smiled up at him.

__

“So my therapist thinks I have a better handle on what happened,” she said, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. “It’s not perfect, of course, but they seemed happy with my progress. And I need to move on from it if I want to recover. So I thought I’d let you sleep in peace for a night.” 

__

Reinhardt squinted down at Ana. There was a brightness and ease to her posture that had been absent for the past week. Now it looked like her shoulders were actually relaxed as opposed to being pulled down by sheer force of will. “Are you sure you’re ready?” 

__

Ana smiled again and nodded. “Definitely. And I promise that if I wake up in the night and I need someone, I’ll come right over!” 

__

“Good. Because having you here is no burden! I sleep just as well when you’re here.” It was true – either Ana wasn’t having nightmares, or it wasn’t loud enough to wake him, because he slept through the night every night. 

__

“Yes, well. I don’t want to stretch your hospitality too far.” 

__

“Fair enough. Sweet dreams!” 

__

“Goodnight, Reinhardt!” 

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* * *

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This time, Reinhardt had no trouble figuring out what had woken him up. Even if he didn’t distinctly remember every second of his nightmare, the sweat on his brow, the pounding of his heart, and the tangled mess of sheets wrapped around him would have been sufficient evidence. That, and the lingering fear and stress coursing through him. He roughly turned on his light and struggled to get himself back under his own control. 

__

After a few minutes with little success, Reinhardt noticed his comm on his bedside table. He figured that it couldn’t hurt to text Ana – maybe she was awake too. 

__

**Reinhardt** : Hey. Are you awake? 

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**Ana** : Yes. What’s up? 

__

Ana had responded very quickly. Reinhardt rubbed the back of his neck and dodged the question. 

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**Reinhardt** : Are you having an easier time sleeping tonight? 

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**Ana** : Meh. It certainly isn’t harder, but I wouldn’t say it’s easier either. 

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**Ana** : Why? 

__

Reinhardt breathed deeply and took the plunge. 

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**Reinhardt** : Can I come talk to you? 

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**Ana** : Absolutely! 

__

Reinhardt rolled out of his bed and pulled on his sweatpants and his undershirt. He didn’t realize until he was halfway down the hall that he had forgotten his sneakers. Given how cold the floor was, it was a bit of a surprise how long it had taken him to notice. But the cold was actually a bit refreshing after the heat of his room. 

__

He opened the door to Ana’s room and stepped in. Ana was sitting up in bed, her bedside lamp turned on and her comm cradled in her hands. Almost immediately he felt her sharp gaze scanning him for any explanation for why he texted her. 

__

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, quickly settling on the correct explanation. 

__

Reinhardt shook his head. “Not tonight. I’ll go talk to a therapist tomorrow.” 

__

“Do you want to go for a walk?” 

__

He sighed. “I just don’t want to be alone." 

__

“Well, the floor is cold and I don’t want to put on shoes, but your bed is bigger. So,” Ana said, reaching up to him. Reinhardt’s heart lightened and he chuckled as he bent down to scoop Ana up into his arms, pillow and all. 

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* * *

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It was another week before Reinhardt felt safe enough to sleep alone. Each night until then Ana nonchalantly came to his room and slept alongside him. He didn’t know why exactly it was true, but he never had a nightmare when she was there. Maybe it was just that he found her soft breaths soothing since it meant that he wasn’t alone.

__

Either way, the additional time spent together meant that by the time they had returned to sleeping separately, Reinhardt was much more familiar with Ana. Over the next month of running into her both during missions and around base, he started to notice more and more things about her. The way she smiled spontaneously at him without any obvious reason why. How something startling a laugh out of her gave it a helpless, breathless quality. The way she bore the weight of being the world’s greatest sniper. The incredible physical and mental strength she possessed. The warmth and kindness in her voice when one of the younger recruits was having trouble adjusting to their lifestyle. How her dark eyes sparkled in the sunlight, especially when she had made a particularly clever joke and she was waiting patiently for him to figure it out. 

__

Reinhardt took nearly the full month to realize what he felt for Ana. Then it took him another week to build up the courage to ask her out on a date. The way she smiled as she said ‘finally’ and laughed when he sighed in relief cleared away any doubt he may have otherwise had. 

__

A few weeks later, Fareeha returned to the base to visit her mother. She spent the day with Ana, but Reinhardt ran into them accidentally and Fareeha invited him to join in every one of their activities. He watched as Ana taught Fareeha martial arts; brought a backpack of snacks on their hike; and talked with Fareeha through their whole movie. The movie would be their last activity of the day – it would be Fareeha’s bedtime by the time they were done, and that time arrived surprisingly quickly. 

__

Before her daughter had arrived, Ana had explained that she wasn’t sure she was ready to tell Fareeha about them, so Ana would share her own bed with Fareeha while her daughter was visiting. Reinhardt wasn’t looking forward to sleeping alone, but he understood completely. 

__

As Ana stood up to stretch, Fareeha fixed Reinhardt with a sharp look from across the couch. “Are you still protecting Mama from her nightmares?” 

__

Reinhardt rubbed the back of his neck, keeping his eye on Fareeha even as he heard Ana let out a low laugh. “I suppose you could say that,” he said slowly. 

__

"Good." Fareeha smiled at him before turning around to look up at her mother. “So if you're having a sleepover, does that mean I get my own room?” 

__

Ana smiled brightly. “Maybe. Would you like that?” 

__

Fareeha nodded her head vigorously as she got to her feet. 

__

Ana laughed again. “Well, then I guess we will be just down the hall if you need us.” 

__

Reinhardt got to his feet and trailed after the pair as they walked hand in hand towards the dormitory, unable to hide his own relieved smile. Apparently neither of them would have to face their nightmares alone that night...or any night, if he had anything to say about it. 

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**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this! Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns! Comments make my day (if not my whole week!) :)  
> P.S. I tagged this as not canon compliant because I am pretty sure Athena didn't exist at that time but I wanted her there anyway. Also I don't want to try to count Torb's kids!


End file.
